


Red Skies, White Snow

by Bone_Dragon



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Action, Beta Wanted, Character Study, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25029649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bone_Dragon/pseuds/Bone_Dragon
Summary: The end of the world is not what you wish to meet on the field. But despite this it feels like it's impact on your life is as big as the shattering lesser moon over your head.
Relationships: Aymeric de Borel & Estinien Wyrmblood
Kudos: 5





	Red Skies, White Snow

The night was red, thick with fog, crimson light, and dread, creeping from hazy skies. Low above the ground, day by day sinking down through the towering clouds, there was Dalamud. Red hound of the Moon, running faithfully behind its master for millennia, was crawling down now, seeking to crush onto the flourishing land, bringing devastation. 

It was looming closer with each passing hour, swallowing the daylight and filling the night with sick gloom. Eyes of thousands of people were held in its grasp, leaving them sleepless. Each night was worse than previous with the catastrophe getting closer. Today they couldn't sleep. Not only the sight had been drawing their gaze, but the feeling of peril. Even though their duty obliged them to have rest, otherwise they soon will become quite useless as a borderline guard, they could not. 

The unit was deployed to Coerthas due to the upcoming battle between the Eorzean Alliance and Garlean Legion. Ishgard withdrew herself from the conflict, closing her doors to the rest of Eorzea and declaring the lack of battle force needed to avert the Horde's attacks. But the command of the Temple Knights still saw reason in dispatching a unit closer to the border. Not in the urge to join the effort to save the continent from the imperial conquer, but solely to secure Ishgardian borders.

This ignorance will bring the same fate upon all eorzeans alike. Narrowing his eyes, Aymeric took a deep breath, not averting his gaze off Dalamud. Being yet a captain of the Temple Knights he could scarcely do something to change the situation. But the appointment to this mission has met his willingness even considering the risk.

Should Dalamud fall this night, they will witness the seventh hell cracking open at their feet.

But on the other hand, they were as close to the battlefield as they could, giving the chance to catch any news spreading from the alliance troops. If Aymeric could do nothing to the isolation at this very crucial moment, he at least could get himself out of the city shell. He wasn't looking for death, nay, but he didn't want to cover his head just as the Holy See had done.

"Ser Aymeric!" Young knight saluted and lifted his gaze off his boots as if trying not to look at the sky at any cost. "Scouting party is back."

"Good. I'm coming." He looked at the knight, nodding approvingly, and turned his back to Dalamud to go to the center of their camp. Based in the shadow of a cliff, the camp was tight, tents huddling to each other. Scouts were seating at the campfire, already chatting with the fellow knight. Late meal waited for them over the fire. Looking at their mood, Aymeric concluded the scouting went well.

"Captain." The leader of the scouting party, middle-aged Hyur named Bertwald, stood up at his approach. Considering his position, Aymeric could, of course, summon the scout to where he stood. But he didn't see the leadership as the authorization to get subordinates running as he liked. 

"Report." Allowed Aymeric, keeping his voice level to pretend the red meteor was not filling the air with blood-red gloom. Ser Bertwald was not less skillful in pretending. He looked at his captain calmly and saluted formally yet heartedly.

"Wyvern nest was spotted approximately 500 yalms to the west. In a cavern of a cliff wall. The wyrm has just left the lair and fled to the north. No other sightings."

"Did it leave the nest without a fight?" A scouting party wasn't meant to pick up a fight with a dragon, so Aymeric asked mostly to clarify the exact information. No matter what peril was getting closer to their land, Temple Knights were still obliged to carry on their duty, fighting dragons included. Even though this night brought a clinging fear, it was easy to carry on with everyday duties.

"It did. Following your order, we didn't pursue." The nest was discovered, the scouting party safe, now to keep an eye on the skies and set a plan to track the wyvern down tomorrow. Aymeric nodded in approval, but ser Bertwald continued. "The dragoon stayed behind. Though that was expected."

Estinien. Oh, that was expected for sure. And no less disappointing. For this night was a bad choice to neglect clear orders and insist on a battle against a wyrm.

Not knowing whether he should show his dissatisfaction with the dragoon's behavior or let it slide, Aymeric was going to dismiss the scout but paused a moment before. Bertwald was still looking at him with his calm dark eyes and in the bottom of them, Aymeric saw sparks. Fiery red sparks were falling down slowly with no sound. He was just standing still for a whole second gripped by the sight and then the scout's eyes widened. The sound came right at the same time. Low grubbling rolled through the thick air from the south and, turned around, Aymeric now saw the source by his own eyes. Slow rain of flaming comets was falling from the cracked skin of the lesser moon. 

Crimson on the surface, it was full of roaring fire inside. Dalamud was sinking through the clouds far over the Carteneau Flats, but the vision of the flame was so intense that in the clear night air Aymeric smelled scorching smoke. The skin of Dalamud was pierced by enormous spears glowing blue and from each of them, the web of cracks was getting bigger by a second. Just a minute later, those webs joined together for everyone to see a pattern of artificial segments, containing roaring fire under its frame.

The world was falling apart before their eyes opened wide. No one in the camp dared to move, staring at the blazing sky until the moment when the first fireball hit the ground of Coerthas. The explosion broke the silence, crushing a rock some hundred yalms away from them. Fire and smoke rose up to the sky, coated with a swarm of sparks. 

That was only the beginning. The Calamity was close over the whole Eorzea. And their unit particularly was too close to the heart of the storm.

“Get to your feet!” Aymeric turned to his people with one swipping movement. He was not unaware of the risk from the very start of this mission. The fall was close with the lesser moon steadily approaching, so he knew there is not a vague possibility that they will have to survive the end of the world. That’s why all the way from Ishgard to the southern marshes of her territory he was looking for the places which would be able to provide at least some measure of safety.

And his attention was not in vain because right now they needed it, the wall to cover them from falling meteors. The closest shelter was the other side of the cliff towering over their camp. The place wouldn’t serve their mission for it covered the view and was blocked by a big rock, leaving just a narrow path. But now that was not a problem. They just had to get there alive. Fast, before Dalamud hadn’t shattered.

“Hold the formation. No panic. Ser Bertwald,” Aymeric turned his back to the shattering body of the lesser moon and collected all his will to maintain his own voice loud but calm. The haste and chaos wouldn’t help anything, even at the brink of the catastrophe. He caught the sight of the scouts captain and held his gaze. “You and your people go first. You have to get behind the hill. Give me your map, I’ll mark the route.”

Calm and composed - while right behind him the great red sphere in the sky was trembling, gaps in its segmented skin swallowed by the roaring fire. Aymeric could hear the low growling sound, he could feel it. He could see dread in the dark eyes of his knights. Growing fear, consuming the hearts of the seasoned warriors, who held their ground under the flames of ancient wyrms and advanced head on against their claws.

He could feel the air in his throat gripped tight by the growing pressure and yet he made himself standing still on his place, giving orders and observing the knights getting ready to move. As their captain, he couldn’t possibly let himself be drowned in fear. He had to lead the unit and mattered not who he is or what he believes in.

The other comet fell to the ground, breaking old spruces like dry sticks, the real smoke and sparks now floating like a veil amidst the people running through the camp.

"Quick march!" Dropping his pretense, Aymeric shouted, darting off the camp, leading the knights along the cliff.

They needed half an hour yet they had only two minutes - and then the earth shuddered, sending people to the ground. Struggling to get to his feet, Aymeric looked back to see enormous spears falling out of the Dalamud's body like the giant keys unlocking something that should never be free again. And then he saw him.

Like scattering the eggshell, gigantic wings swung open, and, throwing back his head, the dragon roared. Its voice pierced the earth itself, filling each living being to the very brim with primordial fear.

For the long moment Aymeric could hear and see nothing except for the giant dragon wings and deafening scream. It was big, even enormous. Much bigger than the Great Wyrm Nidhogg… The one who was their thousand years enemy no dragoon had been able to conquer.

No army would be able to stop him. The end of the world had come upon them.

As soon as feelings had come back to Aymeric, he saw the fire falling down from the red skies. The shell of the lesser moon was now broken, it's pieces turned into firestorm by the rage of the wyrm.

Up until this moment not even once Aymeric worried about Estinien. He knew of Aymeric's plan, he was familiar with this land and he was more than capable of surviving. He was strong and keen. But now, when it was time to flee for their lives, Aymeric suddenly stopped. The fire, the smoke, the dragon - Aymeric knew of Estinien's nightmare, the memory of his past. If the dream was triggered, Estinien won't be able to get out of this hell.

Aymeric still had his people to lead but in that very moment he knew - you can't leave behind someone who understood your ideals and just carry on. You can't just leave one of your people behind and lead the others. You can't just leave behind your friend, no matter how stubborn and strong he is. Maybe he should for the sake of his unit. But he couldn't. 

"Ser Lannent." Aymeric caught the shoulder of a knight in one movement, standing tall among the crushing rocks. "Lead them to the other side of the cliff. Follow the scouts. If I won't join you, don't wait for me."

"What… ser Aymeric!"

"Go!" He turned his back to the shocked knight and ran back. 500 yalms to the west from the camp. That's not too far. He swallowed his breath when the earth boiled 5 yalms from his feet, sending flames to the skies, and just ran around it. Fear of the dragon and falling meteors won't help him a bit now.

That was not an easy task to find a person among the chaos. He should think about it earlier but honestly it wouldn't stop him anyway. Would he rush like that to the blazing hell was it not for Estinien? Aymeric knew he would not. He'd see enough reasons to stop himself. He'd send scouts and lead his own people to safety, probably, and wouldn't feel bad about it. So did he separate Estinien from any other knight?

Aymeric knew he did.

Since the very first time Estinien called him by his name. 

And twice as much since Aymeric saw the clear understanding and interest in his eyes as the answer for his beliefs on Ishgard's future.

He had to dash back to evade a piece of the lesser moon, exploding forest covered hill, leaving only fire behind. A few more hundreds of yalms, if Estinien stays at the same place. Aymeric was looking around constantly, mixing up flames, explosions and high peaks. Every dragoon felt safe on the high places and Estinien more than any. He should be waiting for the wyvern somewhere high and meet the dragon of the Moon at the same spot.

"Estinien!" His voice was scattered immediately by the wind, fading against the roaring chaos. He felt the cold touch of despair, losing the hope to find the stubborn knight. And just in that moment he saw a figure high upon the grey rock. 

He was standing still, staring motionless at the great raging dragon. Comets were falling all around him but he didn't see them. Paralyzed, he was watching the end of his own world, devoured by the vengeful Nidhogg. 

"ESTINIEN!!!" Aymeric stopped for a moment, gasping for the air, and then, just before his eyes, a comet struck the stone under Estinien's feet. Stunned, dragoon took a step back and collapsed back, falling down together with the shards of rock. "Estinien!"

**Author's Note:**

> It's just the beginning of this story in my headcanon, tags and ratings to be added as the story goes on. But to be honest I don't feel confident at all. :)


End file.
